1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to chiropractic tables and more particularly to an automatic cocking device for the pelvic support section of such chiropractic tables.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the practice of chiropractic, the practitioner is called upon to make adjustments to the human spinal column to treat an impaired or abnormal position of one or more vertebrae which could cause a disturbance to the nervous system or interfere with normal nerve supply. The patient is often treated on a chiropractic table which is specially designed to facilitate such spinal adjustments. When the treatment involves adjustments of the pelvic-lumbar portion of the spine, the chiropractic table may be provided with a pelvic support section which supports the pelvis and legs of the patient. The pelvic support section is pivotally mounted at one end thereof to permit the other end thereof to be cocked to an elevated position, so that when the spinal adjustment is made by applying a pelvic thrust to the patient's spinal column, the impact of the thrust force on the patient is lessened by permitting the pelvic support section to be tripped or dropped to its unelevated position by the force of the practitioner's adjustment. This pelvic drop feature of chiropractic tables minimizes the traumatic effect of the adjustment on the patient.
The chiropractic tables available at the present time are customarily supplied with a manually-operable cocking device to elevate the pelvic support section of the table by moving a hand lever which rotates a cocking shaft to elevate the pelvic support section. Since the chiropractor usually makes a minimum of three pelvic thrusts or applications of force to the patient's spinal column for lumbar-pelvic spinal adjustments, it is apparent that the manually-operable cocking of the pelvic support section prior to each pelvic thrust is both time consuming and tiring to the doctor of chiropractic. The practitioner must remove his hands from the patient'back to operate the manual cocking lever, so that the specific vertebrae and pelvic structure involved in the spinal adjustment must be again located and reset by the practitioner prior to the pelvic thrust. Apart from the time consuming aspect of such manual operation, the procedure may cause patient apprehension and there is a possibility of loss of a previously accurate spinal structure contact.
In order to avoid the above difficulties, it would be desirable to provide a motorized or automatic cocking device for the table. However, the installation of such automatic devices on existing tables in difficult because there is a limited space available in which the component parts of the device may be located without interfering with the required operation of the various parts of the table. Furthermore, since the number of suitable attachment points for automatic cocking devices to existing tables is imited, it is essential that installation be made without relocating the existing parts. Additionally, the automatic device should produce a gentle cocking of the pelvic support section which will not injure or disturb the patient. Finally, a suitable automatic device should be capable of easy field installation on chiropractic tables having manual cocking devices without impairing the function of the manual cocking device.